Chest pain?!

Chest pain?

What would cause very mild chest pains that stop and start at random? Would a heart attack cause only one symptom? There are no other symptoms besides slight back pain.

1 week ago
Pulse rate appears to be normal (in the 70-80 bpm range). Muscle strain is a possibility, as I have been carrying around a 20-lb kid all the time.

What may seem random to you may be quantifiable as related to a specific activity or event or grouping of same when evaluated by a medical professional.

Without knowing the answers to quite a few more questions, I can only offer the advice that you seek an appointment with your primary care physician as soon as possible. If you have another episode prior to your appointment that is slightly different and/or more intense, you should immediately be evaluated in your local emergency department.

Do these episodes come on during times of stress (good or bad)? ...when exerting yourself (walking stairs, lifting heavy objects, etc)? ....after eating a big meal (whether spicy or mild)?

Does the discomfort radiate to the jaw, neck, shoulders, arms, etc (in your case it does, to the back)? Is the onset of each episode similar? Does anything make the discomfort better or worse? How intense is the discomfort compared to previous episodes? How long do these episodes last, is the duration of each similar?

Do you or any of your immediate family (mother, father, sister, brother) have a cardiac history or experience similar episodes? Have you ever had a complete medical physical including a 12-lead ECG (Where they place electrodes on your arms & legs and across your chest from the sternum to the left side of your rib cage)?

All of the above can be used to assist your physician in determining whether or not you've been having a cardiac-related event or the need for you to possibly wear a Halter monitor to discover if you're experiencing a transient dysrhythmia. While the most common symptom of a heart attack or medically termed Myocardial Infarction is chest discomfort, not everyone has this complaint. Diabetics are frequently evaluated to have had "Silent" heart attacks, where the symptoms of a mild cardiac injury were overlooked because they were believed to be indigestion or another ailment simply due to the lack of chest discomfort.